Preformed floor unit



April! 13, 1943. K. E. CROOKS 2,316,671

PREFORMED FLOOR UNIT Filed June 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v; E 0 0 0 g a Fwd v I j'zvwewran Km 8. M

' April 13, 1943. K, E, C OO 2,316,671

PREFORMED FLOOR UNIT Filed June 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6" v WAS,

VIIIIIII VIIIIIII A IIIIIIIIIIJ vllr'lllllm Patented Apr. 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PREFORMED FLOOR UNIT Kenneth Crooks, Williamsport, Pa.

Application June 25, 1941, Serial No. 399,701

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a pre-formed flooring unit for forming floors, the object being to provide a pre-formed and pre-finished unit of such a size that a complete floor, coverin a predetermined area can be constructed very quickly thereby enabling a floor to be constructed very cheaply.

Another object of my invention is to provide a floor unit which is exceedingly simpleand cheap in construction and one in which the units can be quickly assembled directly on the joists and secured thereto in such a manner that the units will be interlocked together and firmly secured to the joists.

Another object of my invention is to provide a unit which is pre-finished at the factory so that the units can be assembled to form a complete floor which does not in any way have to be dressed or finished after the floor has been formed.

' Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan View of a portion of floor constructed in accordance with my invention.

' Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

. Fig. 3 is an. enlarged section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1. a

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line i& of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing a shiplap joint extending entirely around the edges of the base.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional View showing a modified form of spring clip.

' Fig. '7 is a detail sectional view showing the edges of the base rabbeted to receive the T-head of a spring clip.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional View showing tongue and groove flooring strips secured on the base by blind nailing.

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view showing the shiplap joint rabbeted to receive a modified form of spring clip.

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view showing the flooring strips secured to the base by nails extending from the inside of the base.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of one of the sections showing the flooring strips extending over the end and one side to form a shiplap joint.

Fig. 12 is a detail sectional view showing the plywood base having tongues and grooves along its edges.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Figures 1 to 4, I disclose a rectangular preformed and pre-finished floor unit 9" wide and 8' long, but it is of course understood that it can be formed in many sizes and can be either oblong or square in shape and formed of various thicknesses. The unit is herein formed of a, /2" plywood base I having a shiplap joint 2 along its side edges and a groove 3 extending around all of its edges for the purpose hereinafter described. The surface of the unit is formed of square edge strips of oak 4; thick and from 1" to 3" wide. The upper edges of the strips are cut off by beveling or rounding and these strips are prefinished before or after they are secured in position on the plywood base I. The strips are secured in position on the plywood base I by nails passing through the strips from the surface and through the plywood. The protruding points of the nails are clinched as shown so that the surface strips are securely secured to the plywood base and when a plurality of the units are assembled on the joists the plywood base forms a subfloor for the surface strips. The floor thus formed has substantially the same appearance and advantages of the well known Cromar factory finished flooring now on the market with the additional advantage of enabling a complete floor to be formed of large pro-formed and prefinished sections instead of individual strips of flooring secured to a sub-floor thereby enabling a floor to be formed quickly and cheaply. In this embodiment the shiplap joint along the side edges of the units are formed by cutting the side edges of the plywood base and the shiplap joint at the ends of the unit is formed by positioning the surface strips on the plywood base in such a man-' ner that they project beyond the base at one end and terminate short of the base at the other end of the unit, as clearly shown. This provides an interlocking shiplap joint between the sections entirely around their edges of such a construction that the sections can quickly be positioned on the joists with the edges interlocked together and the edges and ends of the surface strips in contact with one another and providing a grooveextend ing entirely around each surface strip so that any unevenness is not apparent to the eye.

The pre-formed panels are secured to the joists 5 by spring clips 6 having a right angle projection T at one end to enter the groove 3 of the plywood base i and a hook 8 at the other end adapted to embrace a pin 9 secured in the side of the joists 5. This enables the sections to be quickly and securely fastened to the joists. It will be seen that by forming these sections of a predetermined size to fit a room of certain dimensions that the complete floor of a room can be laid very quickly.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 5 the plywood base Ill is provided with a shiplap joint I I along its side edges and ends and the edges and ends of the surface strips l2 are flush with the edges and ends of the base It. This provides an interlocking joint between the sections when assembled.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 6 the spring clip is provided with a T shaped head A to fit in the grooves of the adjacent sections the edges of the sections being square.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. '7 the edges of the base B are rabbeted to receive the heads of the spring clips.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 8 the edges of the base are square with tongue and groove flooring strips C secured there- 'on by blind nailing to provide an interlocking connection between the sections. In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 9 the shiplap joint of each base being rabbeted to receive a modified form of spring clip C.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 10 the flooring strips extend over the square edges of the base E and are secured thereon by nails extending from the under surface of the base.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 11 the flooring strips F project over one edge and one end of the base and terminate short of one edge and one end to form an interlocking connection between the sections.

In the embodiment of my invention as shown in Fig. 12 the edges of the base G are provided with tongues and grooves to form an interlocking connection between the sections.

I wish it to be clearly understood that any one of the constructions shown of the various embodiments of my invention or any combination of these constructions can be used to form a preformed floor section without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In forming a complete floor from the preformed and pre-finished sections of different lengths are preferably used so that the joints at the end of any one section will not be in alignment with the end joints of the adjacent sections.

While I have shown the floor strips secured to the plywood base by nails they can be secured thereto in various ways such as screws or by. an adhesive. The length of the flooring strips will vary according to the size of the section and may be arranged on the base in different positions but are of a predetermined size so that when'a number of these sections are assembled they will cover a room of a certain dimension.

I claim:

1. A floor formed of a plurality of pre-formed floor units disposed on joists and secured thereto by fastening members, each unit being formed of a laminated base having a shiplap joint edge forming an interlocking connection with the adjacent unit at its edges; the upper surface of each unit being formed of square edge strips having their upper edges cut away and secured to the base by nails or the like.

2. A floor formed of a plurality of pre-formed and pre-finished floor units disposed directly on floor joists, spring fastening members for securing said units to the sides of the joists; each unit comprising a plywood base having an interlocking connection along its side edges with the adjacent unit by a shiplap joint, flooring strips secured on the upper surface of said base projecting outwardly beyond the base at one end and terminating short of the other end of the base to form a shiplap joint between the ends of the units.

3. A wood floor composed of a plurality of oblong pre-formed and pre-finished floor units disposed directly on floor joists, each unit comprising a plywood base having a groove along its side edge and a shiplap interlocking connection with the abutting edges of the adjacent units, flooring strips secured on the upper surface of the base having cut-off upper edges and spring clips having angled ends adapted to enter the grooves of the base and having hooked ends to embrace pins carried by the sides of the joists for securing said units in assembled position on said joists.

4. A sectional floor formed of a plurality of pre-formed sections interlocked together and detachably secured to the floor joists, each section composed of a sub-floor having recesses to receive 35 members for securing the sub-floor to the joists and shiplap edges formed to interlock with the shiplap edges of the adjacent sections the upper surface of said sub-floor having flooring strips secured thereon.

5. A sectional floor formed of a plurality of pre-formed and pre-finished sections detachably interlocked together and detachably secured to the floor joists; each section composed of a subfloor having recesses in its edges to receive angle ends of yieldable members for detachably securing the sub-floor to the side walls of the joists and shiplap edges formed to interlock with the shiplap edges of the adjacent sections; the upper surface having flooring strips secured thereon with their upper edges cut away to form open grooves between the strips.

6. A sectional wood floor composed of a plurality of rectangular pre-formed and pre-finished flooring units disposed on floor joists each unit comprising a plywood base having a groove along its side edges and a shiplap interlocking connection with the abutting edges of the adjacent units being a shiplap joint, flooring strips secured on the upper surface of said base and spring clips comprising a central bowed portion having angle ends adapted to enter the grooves of the plywood base and having hooked ends to embrace pins carried by the sides of the joists for securing said units in assembled position with said joists.

KENNETH E. CROOKS. 

